Kilmore Diocesan Pastoral Centre.

15 May 2014

I am delighted to see so many people here from all around the diocese for our third annual Safeguarding Children Conference. We are all involved in the work of safeguarding children.  We have come a long way in the past ten years. We now have structures, policies, procedures and personnel for safeguarding children in place. We have a very active and supportive National Office for Safeguarding Children which is now headed up by Teresa Devlin, the new CEO, who addressed us here on a number of occasions. Every diocese in the country has now been audited by the National Board and it is widely acknowledged that there is a high standard of safeguarding awareness and action in the Catholic Church.

But there is no room for complacency.  Structures, policies and documents, however good, will not in themselves ensure children are safe. In the end of the day, the safety of children depends on what is happening on the ground. It all depends on you, the priests, the parish representatives and recruitment committees, and the people working with children in your parishes. Without your commitment to implementing the policies and procedures it all comes to nothing.

So, this evening, I want to thank you, the priests, the parish representatives, the recruitment committees, parish assistants, parish youth officers, Lourdes Pilgrimage leaders, carers, and all involved in working with children. I thank you for your work in ensuring that the policies are in place in your parish or your activity, and that the procedures are followed through. And I encourage you to continue with this very important ministry to children and young people.

I realise that this is not easy work, that at times it means sticking your neck out, that it can feel a bit overwhelming at times. You can feel isolated, a voice in the wilderness sometimes. I know Co-ordinator, Suzie Duffy, and the diocesan committee are aware of the challenges you face and they want to help you and support you in meeting them. Suzie will hold a series of meetings in the Pastoral Areas, starting in September, where she will be available to priests, parish representatives and recruitment committees. She will be there to listen to concerns you have, especially about things that seem impractical or are not working. She’d also like to hear about the things that are working well.

I’d like to take this opportunity of thanking Suzie for all her work in the whole area of child safeguarding in the diocese, not just in training and support, but also in the whole are of her work in managing complaints in her role as Diocesan Liaison Person. Only someone who has done that job would fully appreciate how demanding it is and I want to record my appreciation to Suzie for her work and support in that area. I thank our Advisory Panel who assist her and me in the management of allegations. The Panel serves the dioceses of Ardagh and Clogher as well as Kilmore and its members are drawn from all three dioceses. They are people of experience and expertise in different aspects of child welfare and they provide an invaluable service to all three dioceses.

 I thank Lucy Ó Mórdha who gives of her free time generously to assist Suzie in training and attending meetings.  And then of course, there’s our very dedicated Diocesan Safeguarding Committee, under the chairmanship of Christy Dooley. I thank them very sincerely for the great work that they do and for the commitment and professionalism they bring to the task.

The diocesan safeguarding committee has been working for the past year on reviewing our policy, procedures and forms.  There have been many changes and amendments.  The NBSCCC has advised that over the next year or two their National Standards and Guidance will also be reviewed and updated.  The National Board had advised us not to print hard copies of our revised safeguarding manual as it will have to be updated again to reflect the changes that will take place.  So our revised manual is available to download at www.kilmorediocese.ie.   You will also receive a pack of all the updated policies, procedures and forms as you leave here tonight.  A box for every parish is at the front door so please collect it.

The annual safeguarding children newsletter – 2014 issue –  is also available tonight and a number of newsletters are also in the box for every parish.  It can also be downloaded at http://www.kilmorediocese.ie/images/Safeguarding_Newsletter/Safeguarding_newsletter_2014.pdf.  It contains useful information such as a new initiative by the Bishop’s Conference called ‘Towards Peace’ which is a service to offer spiritual support to those whose faith has been damaged as a result of the abuse they experienced and who wish to rediscover or deepen their relationship with God and to link with other people of faith.

Ministry to children is a central part of our mission as Church in the diocese of Kilmore. Christ said to the apostles who wanted to send the children away from him: ‘Let the little children come to me’. The purpose of all our safeguarding structures and procedures in the Church is to facilitate our children and young people coming to Christ. I know that we are sometimes tempted to feel that, with all these procedures, it’s not worth having altar servers or children’s choirs or other activities involving children. That is a temptation and it is one we must resist and reject. To give in to it would be to go against the express wishes of Christ and to sacrifice a central part of our ministry.  Instead let us take heart and take hope and take help from the many generous people who offer themselves to the service of the Church so that we can minister with the assurance of our own safety and the safety of those we work with.